


The Woman with the Feather Tattoo

by retrinazambrano



Series: The Bartender and the Thief [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Outlaw Queen Fix It Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2020-04-06 14:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19064593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrinazambrano/pseuds/retrinazambrano
Summary: Joe meets Roni.





	The Woman with the Feather Tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> For OQ Fix It Week, day 7: wildcard.
> 
> A sort-of prequel to the original Bartender and the Thief OS.

It's with a heavy sigh that Joe leaves the recording studio. He had his heart set on music being the way he makes a living, showing his young son that you can follow your dreams and still want for nothing. Despite the advance from their previously very interested record label, nothing was coming of the Merry Men's music. They were well received live, of course, had a great time gigging up and down the west coast, but their record sales nor downloads were nothing to shout about, the disappointment causing their creative juices to dry up. Joe tried in vain to encourage his fellow bandmates, but all it did was cause arguments.

It was Big Guy that suggested that they call it a day - their friendship was worth far more than some recording contract, fame or money. Although reluctant to give up, it had been six months, and he was right: they would all need one another and there was no way that bruised pride should be able to come between that.

So he's wandering along in Hyperion Heights, trying to figure out what he's going to do, seeing as he has no plan b. He's got enough money left from his inheritance to tide he and Theo over for a few months, but what then? He shakes his head, pulling his jacket around him a little tighter, the cold December wind chilling his bones and, as he looks up, he notices the sign posted in the window of one of the buildings.

Wanted: experienced bar staff. Apply within - ask for Roni.

He looks at the sign above the door. Roni's. Figures. He's nothing to lose now so, with a huff, he pushes the door open.

\------

Joe already feels at home within the homely ambience of the bar, all wood and coolness - somewhere his band would have loved to have played. He can't keep thinking like that, of course, as the band are no more and that's that.

His eyes dart around the place - which is buzzing with low chatter - looking for the lady in question when his eyes fall upon a curly-haired brunette with the most stunning face he's ever seen. A face that feels familiar, but he, for the life of him, cannot fathom why.

He approaches the bar, grateful for the mere fact that he has a legitimate question that gives him the excuse to talk to her. Clearing his throat, he leans on the bar, sliding onto one of the stools. "Hi, I'm looking for Roni."

She doesn't look up from her task - measuring shots with a trained eye - but responds anyway. "Who's asking?"

"Me. I saw the sign in the window - looking for bar staff?"

She looks up then, coffee meeting sea and she smirks. The British accent was one thing, but his face is a completely different story - he's her kind of handsome and it's just as well she really needs someone who can handle the busy weekend shifts, otherwise she might be accused of hiring someone entirely on their looks.

"Ah, good, I was hoping someone would take notice." She holds her hand out. "I'm Roni. Pleasure to meet you."

Ah, so if she's Roni, then she's the boss and that's never a good idea. He shakes her hand and smiles, dimples clear on display. "Joe."

"Well, Joe, what brings you to Hyperion Heights, huh?"

He explains that his ex-wife was a Seattle native and that he moved here with her, yet when they split a year ago, he'd become so enamoured with the place that he decided to stay close by. "That and my son, of course."

She nods, passing the drink she was making to her awaiting customer, taking the payment with thanks and a smile. "Okay, well, how about you come back to my office and we can chat there?" She looks up and over the young man making small talk with one of the other regulars. "Hey, Henry, can you keep an eye on the bar whilst I chat to Joe here?"

Henry comes over with a nod, introducing himself as not a bartender, rather just a friend of Roni's who knows how to pull a pint. Taking his place behind the bar, Roni thanks him profusely, leading Joe to her office.

\------

It's organised chaos, he muses, everything with a rightful place, just with a lot of… mess. There's a wide shot of the Seattle skyline at night above her desk, a framed shot of some decorative feathers - there are quite a few feathers about, actually - and the odd personal effect, but that aside, it's pretty business-like.

"I know what you're thinking," she says, taking a seat and swivelling round to face him, indicating for him to take a seat, which he does. "Not very personal. I prefer to keep the two separate, work and my other life, you know?"

He nods. "I don't blame you." Work and his personal life had gotten so inexplicably intertwined that it had all suffered. "So, what do you need to know?"

"Whether you have any experience," she deadpans. "Really, I'm looking for someone I have to do little training with, who's good with people, got a sense of humour and can just handle a busy night without cracking."

It's quite a few specifications, but Joe is pretty certain he has them all. "I think I can do that for you."

"And you know how to make a Horsefeather?" she asks. This is what stumps most people.

"Rye whisky, ginger beer, bitters and lemon. Easy."

She's impressed. A grin spreads across her face and she nods. "Good. Now, before I make my final decision, is there anything else you think I should know?"

He wasn't going to mention it. It's the thing that's prevented him from getting some good roles in the past and this may be the first time ever that he's considered not mentioning it, but his impulse to tell the truth and be completely and utterly honest with people wins out, as always.

"I… I was arrested for shoplifting a couple of times." He expects it then, a thanks, but no thanks, before he's shown the door, but instead, Roni's eyebrow lifts.

"Right - when?" she asks, calm.

"About ten years ago."

"And what was it you took?"

Goodness, he can't even remember what started the whole thing, but he remembers what it was that got him caught. "Condoms." How could he forget?

Roni's eyes widen and her lips bear the faintest hint of a smile. "Well, at least you were being responsible, huh? And you've not done it since?"

He shakes his head with certainty. "No, not done it ever since then. Also don't want my son to think that that is the normal thing to do if you see what I mean."

"Absolutely," she nods. "So, do you think you can start this Saturday?"

Joe just stares at her for several moments before realising that she's said something that requires an answer. "Saturday?"

"Yes - unless you don't want the job after all..?"

"No, I do, I'm just used to people being put off by my past."

Roni simply shrugs. "We've all done things we're not proud of, but we shouldn't be defined by our past. We can change, can't we? Make good of the present and future without being chastised for what we'd rather forget. So, the job's yours, Joe."

He holds his hand out to her and she takes it, giving it a firm shake. "I am honoured to accept."

She nods, pursing her lips before speaking again. "I do want to ask you something, however… if you don't mind."

"Sure, go ahead. I've got a question to ask you too, but ladies first."

"Okay. What's a guy like you doing in a bar like mine, asking for a job?" He's surprised by the question and she rushes to explain. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad I've found someone who knows the difference between a Horsefeather and a Manhattan, but… you look as if you should be on the cover of a magazine." She blushes a little as she states this last point, Joe considering how to answer.

"I was in a band, the Merry Men," he explains and Roni chuckles at the name. "Yes, I know, but that's what you get for coming from Nottingham. Anyway, we were destined for great things and I absolutely love music, listening, creating, just feeling it, we had a very interested label, but it just wasn't the same once we thought we were getting somewhere - the creative side of things just perished," he shrugs. "And not just for me, for all of us. It's not enough to rely on your current content, you've got to always be thinking of what it is you want to do next, how to keep the audience interested - tough when you can't figure out what your first line of your first verse is," he explains, almost exasperatedly. "We came to a mutual decision that our friendship was worth more than fame."

Roni gives a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry about that. It's admirable though."

He gives her a puzzled look. "What? What is?"

"That you tried and that, despite all of that, you could put your relationships before your ambitions. That's a hard thing to do." _I should know_ , she silently adds but decides not to dwell on it. "You said you had a question for me?"

"Ah, yes." His eyes dart around the room, at all the feathers. "Wondering what significance the feathers have."

Roni relaxes, nodding at his words. "I love them. I always feel that even if I'm having a terrible day or I'm going to be having one of those days, that if I see a feather, it's going to be okay, no matter what. It's something that hasn't let me down yet."

"No wonder you mentioned the Horsefeather," he grins.

"Indeed, one of my favourites. And look." She pulls back the sleeve of her denim jacket and reveals the permanent ink on her wrist.

He stares at the tattoo - a feather - and his mind starts racing, more so when his fingers gently trace the edges. This also seems so familiar; everything seems so damn familiar, yet his mind is a complete fog.

"What is it?" she asks after a time.

"It's just," he replies, continuing to run his fingertips over her skin, "this, you, this setup… it seems so familiar."

Roni lets out a laugh, shaking her head. "Perhaps I have a common face."

"Oh no, milady, hardly. I just can't help but feel like we've met before." It sounds ludicrous, but it's a feeling Joe's just not been able to shake ever since he wandered into the bar.

"Maybe we have," she shrugs, "in another life."


End file.
